The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1) (2 page)

The man fluidly swiveled into one of the
seats beside her, nearest the aisle. Even with an empty seat between them,
Makenna was instantly aware of his presence. He had that sort of magnetism, the
kind that demanded your attention and sharpened your awareness. This was a man
not easily ignored. He oozed a sense of strength and confidence, an aura of
control. Even the spice of his cologne did not hide the heady musk of the man.
He was of average height and weight, had average coloring, average styled hair
and clothes. He was, however, anything but average. His body was in excellent
shape. His muscles were lean and well sculpted. His hair was a bit more blond
than brown, and clipped close to his head. The neatly trimmed box beard and
mustache that ran along the firm line of his jaw and framed the generous curve
of his mouth were a few shades darker than his hair and emphasized the square,
handsome chisel of his face. And his eyes. There was absolutely nothing average
about the clear blue depths of his eyes.

Those eyes were turned on her now,
making observations of their own. Makenna smiled nervously, allowing her gaze
to linger in appreciation for just a second more before she went back to
scanning the aisle.  

“Waiting on someone?” She knew his voice
would be pleasant and mellow, even before she heard it.

“Uhm…. no.” She pulled her eyes back to
him, trying to focus on his question. She was so worried about getting caught
using someone else’s ID that she couldn’t appreciate having caught this
attractive man’s attention. She really should relax. Other than the TSA agent,
no one had even questioned her claim to be Kenzie Reese. And if she had
convinced trained personnel standing only two feet away, she really had nothing
to worry about. Surely.

“You keep watching the aisle. I thought
maybe you were holding the seat for someone.” He subtly glanced at the empty
cushion between them.

“No, just people watching,” she denied.
“It’s a good way to pass the time.”

“Didn’t look like you had much of a
chance before boarding the plane.”

“You saw that?” Makenna groaned. She
knew her cheeks were now pink, an unattractive contrast to her dark auburn
hair.

“I might have noticed you, racing down
the corridor and skidding to a halt five feet past the gate.”

His easy grin made laughing at herself
so much easier. “Running a bit late today,” she confessed. “I can’t believe I
actually made the flight.”

Before he could comment, a young woman
stopped in the aisle and nodded to the empty seat between them. “Taken?” she
asked, hoisting a large purse more securely onto her shoulder.

With graceful economy of motion, the blue-eyed
man swung from his seat to the one in question, bringing himself that much
closer to Makenna. A little surge of pleasure rippled through her; he was
deliberately taking the middle seat for a three-hour flight, based on their
brief conversation.

After a few polite words to the
newcomer, the man turned back to Makenna. She was watching the aisle again.

“You’ll have to key me in on the
fascination,” he murmured, following her gaze. He saw only harried passengers,
filing down the aisle one after another.

Instead of revealing her true reason for
watching the aisle, she reverted to an old game she liked to play. “You have to
imagine their story.”

“Their story?”

“Sure. For instance, see the woman in
gray? She looks irritated at having to go to the back of the plane. It’s
because she’s anxious to get to Manchester. She’ll have a new grand baby
waiting at the airport, and wanted to be the first one off.”

“And the man behind her?”

“He’s in no real hurry. He’s divorced.
He’ll just have an empty house to go home to.”

As the man neared, he steadied himself
by reaching for the seat-back in front of them. The diamond on his shiny gold
wedding band winked in the dim light.

“Okay, so sometimes I miss,” Makenna
admitted with a laugh.

“Oh, but I definitely agree about Grandma.
And I think this young lady in red is headed to an exciting job interview, her
first real job out of college,” the man said, falling into the spirit of the
game.

“I hear it’s an impressive law firm in
Boston. She’s their new intern.” Makenna played along with a serious
expression. “And see the guy in the cowboy hat? First time to fly.”

“Where’s he headed?”

Makenna thought for a moment.
“Nashville. It’s a connecting flight, the only one he could find on short
notice. His girlfriend left him in hopes of making it big in the music
business. He’s headed there to propose.”

“Ah, a romantic at heart,” he grinned,
sliding her a speculative glance.

She offered a noncommittal shrug. She
wasn’t sure if he meant her or the cowboy. “What do you think the story is behind
the man in the gray jacket?”

“Oh, he’s the sky marshal.”

The words were spoken in jest, but there
was no mistaking Makenna’s reaction. She jerked, the breath catching in her
throat as her eyes darted guiltily away from the man, then flitted nervously
back.

“Hey, I was only kidding,” her neighbor
reassured her. With curious eyes, he asked, “What’s wrong? You running from the
law or something?” 

“Of - Of course not.” She tried to
muster the sound of outrage. Searching for a plausible explanation, she said,
“I guess I sometimes get nervous when flying. The need for sky marshals and
all….” She let her words trail off.

“Hey, I hear ya. Never know these days.
But at least we know we’re not in danger from Johnny Kidd up there.” With his
chin, he pointed to the young man coming down the aisle. “He’s obviously headed
home, and can’t wait to get back to his girlfriend and tell her about the
colleges he checked out.”

“Obviously.” Relaxing once again,
Makenna’s eyes twinkled as she teased, “Now who’s the romantic?”

“Just call ‘em like I see ‘em,” the man
said with a flourishing hand movement and an easy smile.

The flight attendant came over the
speaker, asking passengers to prepare for final boarding. Makenna’s cell phone
buzzed, alerting her to a text message from her neighbor Linda.

     
Still
in surgery.

      Will let
you know when out.

Makenna’s fingers flew over the keys in
reply.

Please do. Hated
to leave, but she insisted.

Have to turn off
phone, will check msg when land.

Thanks for being
there.

She deliberately led their friend to
believe this had been her trip all along; no need in pulling more people into
their web of deceit. As she turned off her phone and slid it into the bag
resting at her feet, she noticed her seatmate sending his own last-minute
message before tucking his phone away.  

“So, do you fly often?” he asked.

Makenna shrugged. “Not often enough to
earn any fabulous vacations, but I’m no stranger to the airlines. And you?”

“About the same.”

The flight attendants were making their way
down the aisle, checking to see that overhead bins were secure and seat belts
were fastened. Two different attendants passed their aisle and paused, creating
a fine sheen of perspiration to form on Makenna’s forehead. She maintained an
innocent pose, her breath clutched in her chest. Any minute now …

She did not breathe easily until the
plane had been cleared for take-off and they began to roll down the runway. If
her seatmate noticed her obvious discomfort, he was polite enough not to
mention it. He pulled out a magazine and began rifling through it as the plane
bumped its way along the tarmac. With a shaky exhale, Makenna turned grateful
eyes out the window and stared blindly at the parting view.

New worries plagued her. She had fooled
the officials here in Texas, but what about the return trip? The Manchester,
New Hampshire airport was smaller than the one here in Austin, but that might
mean they had more time to study her identification. What if she couldn’t get
home? Were the fines stiffer out-of-state?

No, silly
, her inner
voice scolded.
A federal crime is a federal crime, regardless of the state
it is committed in.

She nibbled on her lower lip, thinking
of all the things that could go wrong. Why on earth had she let Kenzie talk her
into this scheme? She still had to get past the rental car company, where she
would be forging her friend’s signature. That would encompass insurance fraud
and credit card fraud and lying-to-the-person-behind-the-counter fraud and
Heaven only knew what else! Makenna’s palms turned sweaty and her breathing
came in short, quick puffs.

Even if she made it through the car
rental, there was still the hurdle of checking into the hotel. She felt less
guilty about deceiving the hotel staff, although she wasn’t sure why. But then
she would have to pose as her friend for the rest of the week, doing her
interviews and taking her photos and remembering to introduce herself as Kenzie
Reese. Basically, she had to lie to everyone she met. The upside was that no
one here knew Kenzie and would ever know the difference; the downside was that
she had to lie and cheat and break the law, and she had to do it all without
having a nervous breakdown.

Tenting her hands over her mouth,
Makenna rocked slightly in her seat, considering her options. She could get off
the plane right now, before it lifted into the air. It would mean causing a
stir and raising suspicions, but her conscious would be clear.

Except that she would be letting her
friend down, and this was so very important to Kenzie.

Okay, so she had to stay seated. But
that didn’t mean she had to lie, did it? She could rent the car in her own name
and check in at the hotel as herself. The room was already waiting and paid
for, so it didn’t matter who slept in the bed. And she could simply tell the
people she interviewed that someone else was covering the story, no further
explanation needed. No further lying needed.

Except, then the magazine wouldn’t
reimburse Kenzie. Knowing her extravagant friend, she had booked the best hotel
and the fastest sports car, racking up quite a bill. And if the editors knew
Kenzie didn’t go on the trip and do the actual interviews herself, they might
not pick up the story as promised, meaning Kenzie wouldn’t be paid, at all.

She had promised her friend. Kenzie was
resting easier, knowing Makenna was doing this for her. And if something
horrible should go wrong in surgery, at least Makenna would know she had
honored her friend’s last request.

Before she got any further with her
thoughts, the man beside her was talking again. “Wow, you really do get nervous
flying, don’t you?” he asked sympathetically.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” With an
effort, Makenna pulled herself from her reverie.

“Are you all right? You look a little
pale.”

“No, no, I’m fine.”

“No offense, but you don’t look fine.”

The plane was moving now, picking up
speed as it rolled ever closer to lift-off. As the huge machine left the ground
and vaulted into the air, Makenna drew an obvious sigh of relief. Addressing
her neighbor, she went with the truth. “I’m worried about a friend of mine.
She’s in surgery as we speak and I couldn’t be there for her.”

“Ah, that’s rough. Anything serious?”

“She was in a car wreck this morning.
They’re operating on her leg, but who knows if more is wrong with her? I feel
so guilty, leaving like this.”

“Did you talk to her before you left?”

“Yes. She insisted I come.”
In more
ways than you can imagine!

“So there you go,” the man said with a
charming smile. “She understands and gives you her blessing. Stop feeling
guilty.”

“Easier said than done,” Makenna
muttered.

Makenna turned to gaze down at the city
below, still dumbfounded that she was actually on the plane. She rarely did
anything spontaneous. Most trips she took required weeks of planning, what with
itineraries and reservations and packing and lining up all the little details.
This was totally unlike her, on so many levels.

Kenzie, however, had been right about
one thing: Makenna was stuck in a rut. Her life had become boring and
predictable, her routine more like that of a middle-aged spinster than a
twenty-six-year-old young professional. She needed an adventure, something
unexpected to happen in her life. Losing her job and her boyfriend, all in one
week, definitely offered the unexpected; maybe this spur-of-the-moment trip
would offer the adventure. If not actual excitement, perhaps this trip would at
least offer a refreshing change of pace. 

“So, what’s your story?” Her new friend
turned the tables on the little game they had been playing. “I now know all
about our fellow travelers, but not a thing about you. What adventure awaits
you?”

“Job assignment.”

“As in reporter?”

“Photojournalist.” She was pretending to
be her friend this week, so she might as well start now.